Tag Archives: Churchill Downs

News, Politics, Government

And We're Off: Heading To The Kentucky Derby

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By Alex Skjong, Contributor

Known as one of the premier sporting events of the year, the Kentucky Derby is ripe with tradition, prestige and, of course, mint juleps. The actual race may only last two minutes, but the legendary equine event is about much more than Thoroughbreds sprinting around the track at Churchill Downs (though that is the primary focus). With happenings all week long, there’s a lot to see and do in Louisville during the first week of May. And while the jockeys and stallions alike are prepping for the sound of the bugle on May 4, our Startle.com team has the race-day information you need to know to make your Derby day worthy of a wreath of roses.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestravelguide/2013/04/22/and-were-off-heading-to-the-kentucky-derby/

News, Politics, Government

Sipping Whiskey On The Kentucky Bourbon Trail

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By Amanda Arnold, Contributor

The Bluegrass State may be known for its stunning horse farms and Churchill Downs, but the Kentucky Derby wouldn’t be the same without a bourbon-infused mint julep in hand—and a platter of bourbon balls within reach. So it’s probably no surprise that in 1999 the Kentucky Distillers’ Association created the Kentucky Bourbon Trail—after all, a whopping 95 percent of the world’s stash is produced in the state. Our Startle.com editors are ready to guide you down the trail to sip, smell and taste some of the best bourbon in the world. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Churchill Downs Buying Maine Casino for $160 Million

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

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Over the weekend, Churchill Downs — owner of the famous Churchill Downs Racetrack in Kentucky, as well as racetrack and casino operations in Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, and Mississippi — announced it’s expanding with a $160 million acquisition of the Oxford Casino in Maine.

The transaction is dependent on the company securing a gaming license from the Maine Gaming Control Board, as well as other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013. If the deal falls through, the company could be on the hook for an $8 million termination fee.

According to Churchill, the newness of the Oxford property (it’s only been open since June) means there’s only “limited actual financial data” available. Nevertheless, Churchill did have a few financial tidbits to share. Based on the company’s projections and the Oxford management team’s budget:

  • The purchase of Oxford will probably be immediately accretive to the $3.34 per share that Churchill Downs earned last year.
  • It will add approximately $12.5 million to Churchill’s annual free cash flow — which totaled $103.1 million in 2012.
  • Perhaps most importantly, Churchill Downs says the $160 million it is paying for Oxford represents a 7.5-times multiple to Oxford’s trailing earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

This last point suggests that Churchill Downs, whose own shares cost about 8.3 times EBITDA, is actually getting Oxford for quite a nice discount to the valuation of its own shares.

“The acquisition of Oxford continues our focus on investing capital in gaming-friendly states, in newer properties, in what we believe are competitively defensible markets, and at valuations that we believe will result in significant future free cash flow generation at rates of return attractive to our shareholders,” CDI CEO Robert L. Evans is quoted as saying.

Oxford is on 100 acres about 40 minutes northwest of Portland in southern Maine. The property includes a 25,000-square-foot single-level gaming floor with 790 Class III slot machines and 22 table games. It also hosts a 140-seat casual restaurant.

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The article Churchill Downs Buying Maine Casino for $160 Million originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why the Street Should Love Churchill Downs's Earnings

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By Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool

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Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company’s economic output. That’s because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings’ unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

Calling all cash flows

When you are trying to buy the market’s best stocks, it’s worth checking up on your companies’ free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That’s what we do with this series. Today, we’re checking in on Churchill Downs (NAS: CHDN) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, Churchill Downs generated $103.1 million cash while it booked net income of $58.3 million. That means it turned 14.1% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds pretty impressive.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn’t immune from nonsense, either. That’s why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don’t appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it’s ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

So how does the cash flow at Churchill Downs look? Take a peek at …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance